Some techies, while they may work in the Valley, prefer to leave the corporate campus and return home to a more urban and cultural city. The private corporate shuttles offered by Google, Apple, Facebook and many other tech (and biotech) companies that ferry employees from San Francisco down 101 and 280 are creating little hot real estate spots all over the city. Homes near a shuttle stop seem to be commanding a premium over homes in the same or similar nearby neighborhood, but that are more of a walking distance away.

The private bus routes sponsored by tech firms are a draw, said Zephyr agent Danielle Lazier…. Noe Valley is at the top of the list, then Bernal, Mission, Dolores, Cole Valley.”

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal wrote about prices in SF neighborhoods getting a boost thanks to its proximity to a shuttle stop.

The hottest properties are near corporate shuttle bus stops…Real-estate agent Amanda Jones calls it the “Shuttle Effect” and said proximity can command as much as a 20% premium. Some real-estate agents said they’re dying for a map of where the buses pick up. “When a listing gets deluged with people—that tells me it’s close to a stop,” said Ms. Jones.

The SF Business Times notes that thousands of SF residents are being transported each day by private shuttles:

All together, Peninsula and Silicon Valley private shuttle companies pick up 4,000 passengers at approximately 50 stops throughout San Francisco, with the heaviest concentration in neighborhoods near I-280, such as Noe Valley, Glen Park, and the Mission.

While many companies also pick up in the East Bay and as far south as Santa Cruz, the “Shuttle Effect” appears to only be happening in San Francisco. Rents in Noe Valley and the Mission have gone up 10% in the last 6 months and the Wall Street Journal article profiles a couple who bought their Noe Valley home for $1.5 million. They were one of 21 offers and their bid was 40% over asking.